Winning at Blackjack by Learning to Count Cards

Blackjack is one of the few casino games that a player can beat if the remaining cards in the shoe are rich in high cards. In this situation the odds swing to the player and away from the house. Card counting is the way that a player knows when this situation is in place. The problem is that card counting takes hours of practice by the player to become good at it. Not all players have the patience to learn this skill or the ability to do it accurately. The point of this idea is that Blackjack is the one game that player strategy can reverse the odds from the house to the player by playing percentage Blackjack.

Casinos are in the business of winning and they combat card counting by automatic shuffling and multi-deck shoes. The more cards there are in the shoe, the more difficult it is to count down the decks. Card counting depends on accurately counting the cards so the player knows when the low or high cards dominate the remaining decks. This situation is the one instance in a casino when the player has the chance to have the upper hand against the house.

Players can search for casinos that offer single deck tables. These tables are better for card counters to play. There is one other facet to card counting and that is what is known as the true count. This number is arrived at by dividing the count number by the number of decks that are left in the shoe. So if the count was at –4, and there were two decks left in the shoe, the True Count would be –2. This subtle difference can be a big factor of telling how favorable the shoe is at any time during the dealing of a single shoe.